PolkFresh Farm Tour shows diversity in farms

Sunday

Sep 8, 2013 at 4:30 AM

TRYON — “It's the best-kept secret in the state.” That's what Dawn Jordan, agricultural economic development director, says about Polk County's opportunities in agriculture and the diversity of the farms operating already.

By Gina MaloneTimes-News Correspondent

TRYON — “It's the best-kept secret in the state.” That's what Dawn Jordan, agricultural economic development director, says about Polk County's opportunities in agriculture and the diversity of the farms operating already.Polk County's fourth annual PolkFresh Farm Tour — Sept. 21 — aims to spread the word, however, by inviting people, especially families, to tour participating local farms, meet the farmers, and gather knowledge that might help them grow crops or raise livestock.“People love to see what other people are doing nearby,” said Mindy Wiener, who moved to the area from Los Angeles about seven years ago. She is the coordinator for this year's farm tour and also serves as the president of Slow Food Foothills.The date of Polk's farm tour was moved this year to coincide with the two-day ASAP (Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project) tour Sept. 21-22. Tickets for the Polk farm tour are good also for the ASAP tour, an annual event that covers farms in six nearby counties, including Henderson and Buncombe.Since passes are sold by the carload, Wiener said, this is a good way for families — grandparents, parents and children — to spend time together. “It's a huge educational opportunity,” she said.Wiener knows from taking the Slow Food movement into area schools that children often do not know where their food comes from. Last year, she said, she met adults on the tour who had never seen goats or chickens on a farm.She is especially excited that Polk County High School's teaching farm, distinguished within the state as a model farm for other schools, will join the tour this year. The school's farm has goats and chickens, plants and even a vineyard. She hopes that touring the farm and learning about the program will “spark an interest” with younger schoolchildren, laying the groundwork for their own agricultural interests down the road.Three vineyards will participate on the tour this year. Here visitors can enjoy tastings and learn about viticulture, especially, Wiener said, in light of this summer's heavy rains. This will be a chance for vineyard owners to explain how weather affects the taste of wine produced in any given year.Excessive rains have made some fields inaccessible, Wiener said, but the farmers who are on the tour will have a chance to talk about their failures because of weather as well as their successes, all a part of farming.Wiener recommends that those attending plan their day by choosing three or four farms they are most interested in seeing, since it is not possible to see every farm on the tour. Some people will want a farm that is more kid-friendly, she said — for example, one that demonstrates grooming goats or milking cows. Some people will be most interested in wine tastings or in gaining information about farming aspects, such as soil, that they can use in their own gardens.

Along with a listing of participating farms, organizers will also highlight those restaurants in Polk County that are farm-to-table operations or that use local produce in their menu offerings. The organic gardens at Giardini Trattoria, a farmhouse restaurant and caterer in Columbus, are a new addition to the tour this year. The Columbus Farmers' Market, downtown on Saturday morning, will be open and participating as well.“The proceeds,” Wiener said of ticket sales, “go back to the farmers to either purchase a piece of equipment that nobody has or to fund something they all agree on.”In this way, a day of fun and education for all ages benefits the community directly. Some farms will also be selling their products that day as well.Jordan's farm, Restoration Farm, has been a part of the tour since it began. Back then, she said, the tour of farms was all about the “novelty” of rural life for most people. Today, she said, “People want the education. They don't want to just see. They also want to know the story of the farm.”Their questions are about how farmers got started and what advice they have about getting things done. Some of the curious might go home, she said, with the idea to put in some tomato plants next season or to keep a few chickens on their land.“It's a lifestyle,” she said of farming, and one that her fellow Polk County farmers are more than happy to share.Other participating locations include Green Creek Winery, Harmon's Dairy, Maple Creek Farm, Mill Spring Ag Center, Overmountain Vineyards, Parker-Binns Vineyard, Sandy Plains Farm and Sunrise Farm.Tickets can be purchased at the Mill Spring Farm Store or online at polkfreshfarmtour@eventbrite.com. The Farm Store is at the intersection of Highway 108 and Highway 9 in Mill Spring and is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Friday. Tickets purchased online also are good for a carload and can be used for 31 farms on the ASAP tour.This year the PolkFresh Farm Tour will feature a photo contest with the winner receiving a gift certificate to the Mill Spring Farm Store.In addition, visitors will receive a passport along with their tickets. Those stamped at three or more farms will be entered in a drawing to win a gift basket with items from farms on the tour.

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.